oaktreerb

@mcrcruiserWe got to 4* faster by booking Alaska cruisetours. A 14 day land and sea in a suite will be worth 28 days. The land days are credited the same as your cruise stateroom category. I think you should cruise back to back Panama Canal from San Diego in a suite. Or do the Tahiti, South Pacific out of San Diego in a Suite. No flying for either itinerary. You could be 4* by 2024. Much easier than doing a land and sea…….and no flying!

Is the ship open for coming and going all night? Can you get on and off with the standard procedure (keycard, security check, etc) 24 hours each day?

@Mary229What’s the difference between a Pilsner and a Lager? I like Heineken on the ship. It comes in a special can. I wonder if HAL will create a “special edition” glass to pour it into. I would probably buy one.

@AulanisThe assigned dining is fixed dining early (5:15 or 8;00, I think). Open dining (As You Wish) means you can go to the dining room when you want, or you can make reservations with the maitre’d at the entrance to the dining room for future dates or your concierge may make reservations for you if you are in a suite. You have to ask for early or late fixed dining when you book your cruise, early fixed is the first to fill up. There is usually a line of open dining people when the dining room opens at around 5:15. With fixed dining you just walk to your assigned table, you don’t need to be seated. Take your Shareholder credit confirmation with you and/or ask your TA to give you the Cruise Confirmation which shows all of your onboard OBC. The Navigator App is a work in progress.

We paid a lot to take a ship tour of the Westerdam a few years ago. We toured the bridge as well as the laundry, recycling, and many areas down below in the working and crew area. Because of Covid the ship tours are no longer offered. I think “A City on the Sea” is a great idea. I hope it is offered on our Koningsdam Hawaii cruise in February.

Skip Club Orange on the Volendam. Book a Neptune Suite for breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. Make reservations for dinner in the MDR.

Club Orange is included with Neptune and Pinnacle Suites. It is available for purchase for other stateroom categories. It is a small dining room and you may rarely have to wait for a table. There is a bar nearby where you can grab a drink while you wait. The hostess will come to get you (and she will remember your name). You can make reservations for the MDR on HAL by speaking to the maitre’d if you know the day before what time you want to eat. Most people seem to want to eat early so there can be a wait at 5:15-5:30 PM when the dining room opens. I love having the Koningsdam sailing out of San Diego. It’s a very nice ship with several dining venues. We do not like to eat in the Lido but if that is your choice there are lots of food options and your entree choices will be served by the buffet staff (no sharing serving spoons, etc)

Holland America ships have a lot of viewing areas and a wrap around promenade. Upper level viewing public areas and they open the bow for viewing glaciers in Glacier Bay with national park rangers to answer questions and point out wildlife. HAL ships are built for Alaska and scenic cruising.

I agree with you about drunks on HAL. One drunk passenger ruined the peaceful ambiance of the Tamarind Bar on our recent cruise. I’m not a fan of the HIA drink packages as it encourages people to get their money’s worth with alcoholic beverages. Medical guidelines recommend one alcoholic drink for women and two for men per day!

Good for you. I hope Ian will forward to Corporate your request for recording and showing the EXC talks on the TV’s in the staterooms. You are so fortunate to have both Kainoa and Ian on your journey!

Happened to us a few month’s ago but we didn’t realize we needed a bar code. We showed the HAL rep our boarding pass as usual and he printed the bar code for us. Easy.

yes

When you get through the boarding process and are directed to the waiting area be sure to point out that you are “priority”. You will be directed to the priority seating and will board first with that group.

Sold out cruises: casino rates????? The casino is hopping.

When I had a similar issue b/4 Covid. I called my BBTA and complained to them, “for what I paid I could have had a suite”. The rep said “would you like a suite” and I said “yes”. and she traded my veranda or a far forward SS handicap unit. (the only suite available). It never hurts to ask but be prepared for what you may receive!

From what I’ve read, the Bliss is an experience in itself. You might enjoy the adventure on the big ship. Ensenada is usually the required “near foreign port” for Pacific Coast cruises. I’m surprised it is on the itinerary as it is not required on this itinerary.

You keep is up to date and I always appreciate your contributions.

@Coral gives good advice. If this is your first trip to Alaska you may want to do the self guided land tour after the cruise. That way you will be more familiar with what Alaska has to offer. You could easily spend three days in the Seward/Anchorage area. If you want to do a cruise tour do the land part first so you can relax on the ship. One of the advantages of a land tour before cruising is that you will have friends from the tour on the ship.

See Sugar&Buddy request above

A few years ago we were on a ship tour to see the beautiful scenery and gardens in Puntarenas and experienced a torrential rain as our bus returned us to the ship. It was a scary ride down the mountain and our bus driver said torrential rains are common in the afternoons. I was afraid the bus would slip off the road and we would be hospitalized in Costa Rica. According to our guide Costa Rica has an excellent health care system and if we had an accident we would have been well taken care of. Too bad this tour missed the ship but it sounds like a dangerous situation and it needed to be handled with utmost caution.

Thank you. This is just the information we Pacific Coasters have been waiting for.

Me, too in the 1950’s probably.

I couldn’t remember the name of the App and I was too lazy to look it up. Thanks for the suggestion. That works, too.

If you are onboard now, why not ask your question of the officers onboard? You can get a “let is know” form at the customer service desk. Maybe HAL will follow your recommendation for one of the weeks you are onboard.

If you booked a VH guarantee there are only four, far forward on deck 4. You will probably be upgraded but maybe still with the steel partially obstructed balcony. Look at the deck plans online. Maybe they were doing a promo of some type. Don’t know why @PROCRUISE thinks you should move to a window cabin. A balcony would be my choice if the price was the same,